"False messiahs and false prophets will arise,
and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive,
if that were possible, even the elect."

Matthew 24:24

WITH ALL THE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR UNPRECEDENTED LIGHT and rapid spiritual progress in the world today, it is of little surprise to note that the forces of selfishness (evil) are also particularly engrossed in their own kind of work upon Earth. They are, once again as always, vying for attention by perpetrating all kinds of guileful antics as they endeavour to gain for themselves as much attention and power as they are able to grasp. The age-old struggle between good and evil is again evincing itself here upon Earth, and is, to a growing number of awakening individuals, especially noticeable today as the dawning light of the New Day is throwing shadows in all directions.

As greater light continues to illuminate the planetary consciousness, darkness is necessarily accentuated; where there is light there must exist its corresponding shadow, or contrast, for in a dualistic universe one cannot exist and is meaningless without the other. More specifically, there has existed for millions of years a great protective barrier of spiritual force around our planet that was instigated and has been dutifully maintained by the Earth's own planetary Hierarchy. This ethereal bulwark regulates the incoming flow of various energies, forces and souls to Earth, while it also functions as a shield from cosmic evil. Without such a measure humanity would have experienced much greater oppression and hardship than that which it has known heretofore. In this time leading up to the birth of the New World, certain doorways are being opened in the barrier in order to allow for a larger influx of benign entities into our Earthly sphere where their aid may be rendered. However, these doorways are presently also being used for access by entities who are rather less than friendly! Nevertheless, such undivine souls have the karmic right to be here on Earth.

Such entities are representatives of primeval and malevolent powers that still exist in the universe, and today, as ever, they are striving toward effecting stagnation in the world as they invariably seek to retard progress by fostering craving for self and attachment to the known. They work effectively through the selfishness of personal desire, fear, pride and conservative attitudes. Such ancient materialistic forces have ever been pitted against true, spiritual advancement, and thus they are in conflict with the flow of the Spirit which, like a stream, is ever changing, ever new.

The forces of darkness incorporate very real and wilful intelligences who work to preserve that which is old and material, hence they are pre-eminently the forces of crystallisation, or of form-preservation. They promote the attractiveness of matter, desire for temporal control and power, and the lure of that which exists in the form-life of the lower worlds. They consequently and deliberately attempt to block the influx of anything which is good, true and life-enhancing, as greater divine light certainly threatens their dominion upon Earth. They do this by distorting the new truths and by stimulating desire and excitement in offering false substitutes that may appear to be new and promising, but which are, in fact, only re-presentations of the old ways of self-gratification. Principally, and whenever they are able, they endeavour to preserve that which is familiar and old, to counteract the effects of the oncoming culture and civilisation, to bring confusion to humanity, and to feed steadily the existing fires of separateness, criticism, animosity, etc. These forces work insidiously and cloak their efforts in fair words, leading even sincere spiritual aspirants to feel and express antipathy for certain persons and ideologies, thereby fostering the hidden seeds of hatred to be found in many human beings. They fan to fury the fear and antagonism of the world in an effort to maintain that which is outmoded; they make the unknown and true appear undesirable or unbelievable, and they attempt to hold back progress for their own ends.

Now, essentially there is no evil in this world, no vice, no sin, except for that which flows from the assertion of the individual self. The propensity of self is to cling to the known, and most people in the world today tend toward the old, the fixed and the 'secure'. Such is the general disposition of humanity into which its social-conditioning and extremely limited education - so painfully devoid of the greater verities of life - have programmed it. The vast majority, then, have become steeped in the ignorance of egotism, and resistance to change is normal for them. However, as purifying forces pour into the subtle energy fields of our planet, the darkness of old, ingrained delusions and selfishness in all their diverse forms are being forced up and out like the poison in a wound. All anxieties, fears and other occult contaminants that obscure the light of the Spirt are necessarily surfacing in our lives today; the true colours of humanity are beginning to be clearly exposed, and there is much more yet to be revealed in a changing world that is struggling to be free of all inharmonious influence.

Equipped with an adequate understanding of the world situation during its current process of purification, we would all do well to remember the fact that if the mind makes a practice of rectitude in its thinking, then there is no evil that can make entrance into it. However, a growing number of people today are being impressed negatively (and most often unconsciously) by antagonistic forces in order to thwart or to completely quash anything that is supportive of the successful unfoldment of this current phase of the Divine Plan for mankind. Such sinister manipulation is greatly facilitated by individuals who harbour fearful or selfish attitudes and motives, and the forces of darkness who are recruiting today for the final battle are certainly not restricted in their choice of prospective candidates on Earth! Agents of evil are often quickly recognisable, but sometimes manage successfully to conceal themselves, for example, beneath the pious mask of religious philosophy or spiritual idealism. "The devil quotes scriptures for his own designs", and the person who would know the truth must be especially vigilant today amidst the proliferating wiles and illusions that are being consciously perpetrated upon our planet, mostly from hidden spheres. We must learn to recognise and pick out the spiritual wheat from the emotional chaff, bearing in mind always, especially in these exceptional times, that there exists in the world a great deal more chaff than wheat!

Today, as stimulating psychic forces are unleashed and made available to mankind on an unprecedented scale, the unsuspecting, hasty and unenlightened are exhibiting their new abilities with remarkable alacrity, prematurely stepping forward to inaugurate themselves to the general public as spiritual teachers, healers and masters of wisdom, when in reality they have only made contact with the astral plane. These uninformed and unwary innocents are most often quite blind to the very real dangers of untrained lower psychism (e.g., clairvoyance, mediumship, etc.), its powerful tendency to tempt, consequently inhibit or even to cause a regression of real spiritual progress. They are also usually quite unaware of the potential that astralism inherently possesses for attracting the interest of cunning spirit-beings who simply love to cause as much mischief as they can in these important times of global catharsis and transformation.

In being aware of the expanding light upon the horizon of the New World, the forces of darkness are today redoubling their efforts against the Forces of Truth by trying all kinds of new, devious and desperate attempts to further delay the unfolding Divine Plan, and to take for themselves as much of the new light coming to the planet as they are able to snatch away from humanity. In order to ensure greater success in their goal, the dark forces often offer fake spiritual gems that may appear to sparkle in the beginning, but soon fade and become lacklustre, along with the temporary satisfaction which may have been initially gleaned from them.

If a true divine experience has yet to be attained, the exuberant and hopeful self-seeker may easily confuse astralism and psychic phenomena for spiritual revelation and holy wisdom. If a person with desire of any kind decides to meddle upon the lower astral plane (which is readily accessible to many today), perhaps seeking to contact discarnate entities thereupon, they throw open wide the door of their consciousness for mischievous and evil forces to freely enter in. This is especially so for teachers who demonstrate influence over others, for in their commanding and, therefore, powerful position they become prime targets for the cravings and ambitions of lowly-evolved and maligned spirits. Such beings seek to contaminate the minds of their unsuspecting victims with their delusory ploys as they simultaneously draw attention and life-force to themselves. The majority of these discarnate souls are quite unhappy, and since misery loves company they endeavour to render such damage as they are able by imposing their own will through the passive consciousness of the unwitting medium. Such treacherous patterns are evidenced today among many New Age groups, and are spreading like an epidemic due to an absence of basic occult understanding, humility, and that purity of intent which is essential for safe and useful psychical work.

It should be understood that there is a limitless abundance of intriguing facts (and falsities) that are accessible upon the astral plane by its legions of residents. Such information often seems impressive, and may appear bright and true to those who grasp blindly for something new and exciting, and indeed, on occasion, a jewel of truth might slip through*. However, the astral land is known in esoteric circles as the realm of illusion, partly because its lower sub-planes provide residence for egotistic denizens who are often much less evolved even than their mediums, and who have desires and designs of their own. Truth is often corrupted by such entities either innocently or wilfully, prior to being subsequently tainted by the illusory nature of the astral plane itself, and finally also by the personality of the medium. The result: the great plethora of exaggeration, misinformation and imitation spirituality in the world today. Due to the extant ignorance of mankind and the intensity of the period, mediumship is currently proving itself to be more often a curse than a gift.

* Due recognition is given to the fact that some accurate and very useful information is presently being received through bona fide mediums. However, it should not be overlooked that this is only information. Mediumship (or 'channelling' as it is usually called today), in and of itself, does not constitute a path of spiritual development.

If messages from lofty spiritual planes are to be reliably and accurately conveyed through a medium, then the impression must be a direct descent from higher mental levels to the brain, avoiding all contact with impurities in the astral (emotional) part of the medium's constitution. Only in so far as this direct descent is attained will the recorded impression be devoid of error; it will not then be tinctured with any emotional complex whatsoever. For it is the astral level of consciousness that is the great distorter of essential truth. True interpretation of messages from the higher worlds is dependent upon detachment from lower psychism. The medium must be essentially humble, and so personality-decentralisation is an utmost requirement for true, safe and successful spiritual mediumship. This is critical today as more and more mediums are being targeted by the dark forces.

Often mediums are aware at some level that their 'guides' have at least some personal motives which are not entirely divine, yet these mediums continue to follow their instructions at the expense of complete integrity due to their own lack of discrimination, fear of ridicule from their established students, and sometimes for far more unscrupulous reasons. Many established spiritual leaders, teachers and gurus are, to the perceptive observer, conspicuously falling today, and so exemplify to the children of the New World that blind and unintelligent submission to external authorities is inherently dangerous and strongly inadvisable. In fact, the real and qualified spiritual teachers in the Aquarian age will not gather students around themselves. The perennial admonitions solemnly given by sages of yore would especially profit everyone at this time and ought to be revived and retained in the minds of all those who would safely tread the spiritual path today, for the pharisee is often further from the kingdom of God than the publican and the sinner. In every way unholy company should be avoided by the seeker of Truth because it will likely give rise to passion, glamour, excitement, contagion, blindness, false hopes, delusion, etc., and all at a cost to wise decision and real spiritual progress. Psychic experiences may seem at first a bubbling froth of something better, but they veil one's eyes and serve only to inhibit higher perception.

Presently, all over the world, there exists an overabundance of new religious institutions, spiritual societies and esoteric organisations that have allegedly been inspired and guided by contact with great masters, Christ-like entities, highly advanced extraterrestrial light-beings, and even angels and archangels. While it is true that a far greater profusion of very evolved divine Agents are closer to Earth at this time than ever before in its history, it must ever be born in mind that so is the opposition - the antichrist*, and the devotees of any spirit-beings, their teachings or their nominated representatives would do well to remember always the occult dictum that states like attracts like, for this is an immutable universal law. The level of morality, virtue, humility and, therefore, the frequency of consciousness of the medium who makes contact upon the inner planes dictates the spiritual class and delimits the calibre of the channelled entity. The average desire-bound individual will certainly not be chosen as an agent upon Earth to convey the sacred and momentous messages of lofty spiritual beings, although such mediums may easily misinterpret their distorted thought-forms within the astral worlds, which are but broken reflections from higher spheres.

* The antichrist is not a single person or being; it is not the 'Devil' or 'Satan', neither of whom actually exist, although a great number of entities continue to derive satisfaction from impersonating the mythical Lord of Darkness. The term 'antichrist' refers to all evil intelligence as it is expressed in the universe in direct opposition to the plans of the Cosmic Christ - The Lord of the World - who is not the personality called Jesus, but an extremely exalted field of divine Consciousness - a Great Being of Love and Wisdom - one tiny ray from whom shone through the lower vehicles of Jesus, as it did through those of the Avatar, Krishna of India, before him, as well as many other great Servers throughout human history, thereby bestowing upon these individuals the spiritual title of world-saviour. The word 'Christ' is derived from the Greek 'Kristos' meaning The Anointed One. Those who work under the banner of the antichrist include a whole host of sentient beings, some of whom are very advanced in terms of their occult knowledge, their power to control certain lesser spirits, and their ability to wield various natural forces; others may be quite unaware of how they are secretly used by the brothers of shadow, but all of them have one thing in common: selfishness, while those of a more treacherous nature harbour an insatiable lust for power, personal aggrandisement and dominion over others. It is, in fact, their innate selfishness that prevents any real and permanent alliance among them, and this is why the forces of darkness are always ultimately defeated by the greater united power of those who serve the Divine Plan, and who constitute, therefore, the divine Forces of Righteousness.

Today, an inordinate mass of ordinary people bearing minimal spiritual development are claiming to be the officially appointed channels for the authentic new teachings of various exalted beings, many of whom have become well known via various established religions for thousands of years. Guatama Buddha, the Lord Maitreya (Christ) and even God Himself! are to be heard speaking through an unlikely assortment of mediums today. Such nonsense exemplifies the great sham within the New Age movement, even though the printed matter collated from channelling sessions and enthusiastically distributed by those who whole-heartedly believe in it, may appear to be dependable, authoritative and even somewhat uplifting. It should not be overlooked, however, that even a young, dull and mischievous child is able to quote pleasantly-sounding axioms or make false promises, and the astral plane is copiously littered with the shards of discarded thoughts and ideas from eons past and up to date, ready to be taken up by any vagrant spirit who happens to be wandering by.

Highly advanced spiritual beings generally do not limit themselves by communicating at the level of the individual personality. They typically influence many different souls simultaneously, and their communications, which operate under the Law of Impression, are effected upon higher levels of consciousness, where very few mediums today are consciously able to reach due to their personal desires, which necessarily limit their contact to the lower astral plane. The great Guides of the race have ever served humanity by way of an ancient, highly organised and intricate hierarchical system comprising many exalted lives, masters, high-initiates, disciples and worthy emissaries who have all proven their spiritual merit by successfully emerging from the fires of past trials and severe tests taken over numerous incarnations.

At this time all around the world it is a common occurrence that yesterday's office clerk or manual worker is magically transformed into today's 'enlightened teacher', and such absurdities lucidly illustrate that psychism is not a sanction for true, spiritual work, and that psychic ability does not necessarily (or even usually) correspond to spiritual purity; nor does it indicate advanced mystical attainment (which must be realised through long and diligent practice) be it of the white or the black magician. Perhaps we would all do well during the coming years to bear in mind that domestic pets such as cats and dogs are psychic, as are members of various primitive tribes located in Africa, South America and elsewhere.

A great number of species of animals are generally more psychic than human beings because, while remaining completely free of the constricting and obstructive psychologies that mankind so prevalently possesses and demonstrates, these animals are naturally and effortlessly sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of other sentient beings around them. Such members of the animal kingdom regularly communicate psychically with one another, and they can sense changes and presences that arise within the subtle planes that exist alongside our physical world.

Psychism is a most ordinary and natural function, but humanity generally desensitises these inherent and latent faculties due to a compulsive and emphatic use of the lower psyche, and the consequent development of a rigid mind-set that may include all kinds of limiting false conceptions, fears and prejudices. Due to its unnatural and habitual tendencies, therefore, the human race has to date generally and subconsciously opted to close down its psychic awareness, while those few who in the past have chosen to freely demonstrate their uncommon psychic abilities, in attracting the wrong kind of attention, may have landed themselves in serious trouble.

Throughout modern history, fear has been the chief motivating force behind the suppression, persecution and even execution of those who evidenced psychic powers, e.g., witch-burning in the middle-ages, the Spanish Inquisition, etc., and many psychically sensitive individuals have been promptly treated as insane. Today, however, the energies of the Aquarian age are forcing open previously inhibited channels of psychic perception and sensitivity in mankind, and the world is no longer able to deny these very real faculties due to their emergence and demonstration en masse. However, due to the pervasive lack of occult understanding amongst humanity, lower psychic faculties are currently being misused and abused, while the misconceptions born of New Age psychism continue to mislead many. Lacking right understanding in these times we shall be like the blind man in the valley of the shadow of death. Occult education is critically required today in order to prevent individuals from falling prey to those identical temptations that have led to the total destruction of whole civilisations upon Earth in the past.

Channelling, as it is still widely practiced in its lowest and most material form, is a low grade psychic expression. It is, for the masses, definitely one of the least demanding 'spiritual paths'; it is easy and therefore of negligible positive influence upon real spiritual progress. In stark contrast, divine-contact has ever been the most important and prime goal of the serious spiritual aspirant, and this rule has not changed merely due to the increased psychic sensitivity in the world. Being the most direct communication with the Spirit for humanity, divine-contact facilitates the receipt of pure insight, flawless intuition and dependable wisdom, obviating the need to contact other beings for information. It will also allow for the beneficent radiation (via the personality) of the light of the Spirit, the nature of which is Love. Conversely, channelling can be very detrimental to the individual upon the spiritual path for numerous reasons, and, once divine-contact has been attained, becomes completely superfluous.

Channelling, therefore, constitutes a definite distraction to real spiritual attainment, and for the average person today is fraught with danger. Moreover, the trance condition that many lesser mediums effortlessly adopt is a most undesirable state, especially in these times. It separates the medium from their own soul, and definitely relegates them to the realm of uncontrolled and material forces that abound upon the astral plane. It is imperative that mental activity be enhanced and selflessly consecrated to helping others so that intelligent and conscious channelling may be practiced safely if at all, otherwise true, spiritual mediumship will remain a rare occurrence within the New Age spiritualistic movement. The na´vetÚ and excited grasping of the majority of those who are interested in channelling, together with the ingenuousness, pride and selfishness of the bulk of mediums, exposes groups to very definite dangers as they continue to let loose in the world forces and entities of an unholy nature.

All manner of devious spirits are today proceeding to seek out and to contact sensitives in physical incarnation who evidence reasonable potential to become instruments for the execution of their ungracious plans, just as the benevolent and true Servants of the race are searching for selfless and devoted hearts to help with the real Divine Work upon Earth. As the lower psychic faculties of mankind expand, dark forces may eagerly rush in where angels will not tread. Wherever there exists even a tiny blot upon the motives of the medium, he or she is automatically prone to be surreptitiously deceived, used, victimised and even permanently possessed. Conditions are so ripe at this time in the world and humanity's gullibility and desire so pronounced and prevalent, that such unfortunate occult usurpations are being facilitated by a negative synergy actualised by unprepared groups of perhaps well-meaning people. This is resulting in group-possessions and it is to be observed today that certain mediums together with some of their loyal followers are headed straight for the lunatic asylum!

Lowly-evolved and unscrupulous entities bearing sinister ambitions recognise how easily they may outwit unsuspecting human beings. Many of these wily disembodied spirits are no great fools, and they understand well that the dissemination of alluring but erroneous teachings may seem authentic and dependable to the unwary on account of the truth that lies at the base of them and which is intentionally allowed to slip through their falsifications. For it is the little bit of truth in an error that gives it its appeal and strength, not the great wrapping of falsehood that overlies the scrap of truth, and many teachings being given out today are gross embellishments or distortions of basically sound contemporary facts. How many hopefuls will become most embarrassed, if not sorely grieved, when they eventually come to realise that their beloved master or lofty angelic source is no more than a deceased human personality of low order, or even merely a rather bold and mischievous nature-spirit!?

The previous illustration is a characteristic example (and not, by far, the most shocking) of that which is transpiring within the New Age movement today, and it is everywhere apparent. Large, affluent, fully-established, well-attended and even 'prestigious' spiritual organisations exist around the world that have been instigated due to the communications and manipulations of entities with, at best, unquestionably deluded motivations. Many of those who are presently offering false teachings are all the more convincing to the unaware due to the fact that they themselves actually believe what they teach, and may therefore possess genuinely sincere motives. Yet while they forge ahead with the notion that they really are serving the Divine Plan, they are in fact little more than human marionettes for masters of deception who work from within the hidden worlds. It is one of evil's favourite and most frequently employed ruses to pose as holy messengers, for it knows well how to appeal to humanity's pride and desire. These dark spirits are well-practiced and skilled at masquerading their true intentions with a facade of stimulating and evocative melodramas and emotionally appealing beguilements of all kinds.